One of the little items he’s trying to hustle through while no one is looking –

[T]he draft of a Trump administration executive order that spilled into public view early Wednesday — a document that raised the prospect of reviving C.I.A. “black site” prisons like those where terrorism suspects were once detained and tortured — has the potential to further fracture a national security team already divided over one of the most controversial policies of the post-9/11 era.

The White House disclaimed the document, which was leaked to The New York Times and other news organizations, but three administration officials said the White House had circulated it among National Security Council staff members for review on Tuesday morning. And many

Trump complains that the media choose unflattering photos of him – he complained about it in that interview with David Muir of ABC – yet he chose this photo to tweet:

"@romoabcnews: .@DavidMuir first @POTUS interview since taking office. Tonight on @ABCWorldNews @ABC2020 tonight. pic.twitter.com/I4Vz1mRdBK"

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2017

 … Read the rest

You know how tv news shows use a photo to signal a break for commercials, right? Last night CNN used this one for the purpose, causing me to laugh myself breathless:

Well chosen.… Read the rest

Aaron Blake at the Post does another annotated transcript, this time of the interview Trump did yesterday with ABC News, his first interview from Inside The House. It is, of course, astonishing. I saw a few clips of it last night, and was duly astonished.

This is one choice bit:

DAVID MUIR: Let me just ask you, you did win. You’re the president. You’re sitting …

PRESIDENT TRUMP: That’s true.

DAVID MUIR: … across from me right now.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: That’s true.

DAVID MUIR: Do you think that your words matter more now?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yes, very much.

DAVID MUIR: Do you think that that talking about millions of illegal votes is dangerous to this country without presenting the evidence?

Breaking news – senior people flee the State Department leaving it empty at the top.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s job running the State Department just got considerably more difficult. The entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass exodus of senior foreign service officers who don’t want to stick around for the Trump era.

Tillerson was actually inside the State Department’s headquarters in Foggy Bottom on Wednesday, taking meetings and getting the lay of the land. I reported Wednesday morning that the Trump team was narrowing its search for his No. 2, and that it was looking to replace the State Department’s long-serving undersecretary for management, Patrick Kennedy. Kennedy, who has been in that

And then there’s BadHombreNPS. (There’s a long list of them. Long and growing.)

Global sea levels rose 17cm in the last century. The rate in the last decade, however, is nearly double that of the last century. #climate

— BadHombreLands NPS (@BadHombreNPS) January 25, 2017

The @internetarchive is a valuable tool in times of science censorship. https://t.co/61VB4TrwrT

— BadHombreLands NPS (@BadHombreNPS) January 25, 2017

Unlike certain, um, individuals, @ArchesNPS's sandstone formations are *naturally* orange due to the presence of hematite. #science #geology

— BadHombreLands NPS (@BadHombreNPS) January 25, 2017

https://twitter.com/BadHombreNPS/status/824364927913787392

BREAKING: Statement from @NPCA CEO, Theresa Pierno regarding censorship of comms channels for gov't agencies pic.twitter.com/1kf1h2vSI1

— National Parks Conservation Association (@NPCA) January 25, 2017

Keep it up,

More rogues on Twitter:

DYK redwood groves are #1 carbon sink / acre in nature? About 200 tons an acre. More redwoods would mean less #climatechange #climate pic.twitter.com/mHdpRmYEx0

— Redwood N&S Parks (@RedwoodNPS) January 25, 2017

During WWII Death Valley hosted 65 endangered internees after the #Manzanar Riot. #JapaneseAmericanInternment

— Death Valley NP (@DeathValleyNPS) January 25, 2017

"We want the opportunity they have to prove their loyalty. We are asked to accept a denial of that privilege in the name of patriotism." pic.twitter.com/4JedTyfX57

— Death Valley NP (@DeathValleyNPS) January 25, 2017

Togo Tanaka: interned at Manzanar and Cow Creek (Death Valley) during WWII #JapaneseAmericanInternment pic.twitter.com/hvqtv6rynV

— Death Valley NP (@DeathValleyNPS) January 25, 2017

… Read the rest

The maquis is forming. There is a growing list of rogue Twitter accounts to do what the official ones can’t. The AltUSNatParkService one for instance:

The Unofficial “Resistance” team of U.S. National Park Service. Not taxpayer subsidised! Come for rugged scenery, fossil beds, 89 million acres of landscape

Obama enacted rules that federal agencies should have scientific integrity policies guaranteeing right of free speech for employees #climate

— NOT ALT WORLD (@NotAltWorld) January 25, 2017

It followed the gagging of some researchers and the altering of reports under the Bush administration. #climate

— NOT ALT WORLD (@NotAltWorld) January 25, 2017

An American government that ignores science to pursue ideological & corporate agendas endangers the world, now, and for future generations.

I’m still in a rage about the gag orders, but there are still other matters to follow. There’s Eric Levitz on Trump staffers’ eagerness to report what a car crash their boss is.

The president is a 70-year-old child whose TV time must be closely monitored — because any news story that upsets his ego will trigger a temper tantrum followed by irrational demands that his indulgent, overwhelmed guardians will be helpless to refuse.

Or so Donald Trump’s aides keep confiding to the nearest available reporter.

On Sunday, one of the president’s confidantes told Politico that his staffers have to “control information that may infuriate him,” a task made difficult by the fact that the leader of the free

Trump the lying silencing liar claims to “believe” millions of people voted illegally, but since he’s a chronic liar, that’s not very plausible – and it’s also beside the point.

President Donald Trump believes millions of votes were cast illegally in last year’s election, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday, but he wouldn’t provide any concrete evidence for the claim, which has long been debunked.

“The President does believe that, I think he’s stated that before, and stated his concern of voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign and continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence people have brought to him,” Spicer said.

Pressed for what evidence exists, Spicer would say

This is the worst yet. He’s imposing a gag order on federal agencies.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has moved to curb the flow of information from several government agencies whose mandate impacts environmental issues since last week, in actions that appeared designed to tighten control and discourage dissenting views.

Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior Department, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have seen directives from the newly minted leadership seeking to limit how they communicate to the public, according to multiple sources.

Who the FUCK does he think he is? What makes him think he gets to do that? What makes him think he has a mandate to … Read the rest